Hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, and other forms of severe weather have a devastating effect on the communities they strike. People who live and work in these communities need weather protection systems that effectively protect their homes, businesses, and other structures. A typical prior-art weather protection system includes metal shingles or panels that are placed over structural elements of a home, business, and/or other structure in anticipation of a severe weather event. Such systems are often heavy, cumbersome, and/or difficult to install. In addition, such systems typically require significant storage space.
Existing weather protection systems that use fabric instead of metal sheets or shingles may be somewhat lighter and easier to store than a metal shingle based system. However, such systems suffer from numerous deficiencies. Among others, such systems (1) require pre-formed grommets in the fabric, which can make it difficult to tailor a system to a particular site and/or which may introduce a point of weakness into the system, (2) use a buckle and strap system, in which buckles may loosen and require retightening during a storm, (3) may provide inadequate protection when the system sustains an impact while under a high wind load, (4) may contribute to structural damage when the system becomes subject to negative air pressure, (5) are difficult and time-consuming to customize for a particular site, and/or (6) require a relatively lengthy “lead time” for manufacturing purposes.
Thus, a need exists for a weather protection system that, (1) is relatively easy to install, (2) is relatively easy to customize for a particular site, (3) provides protection when the system sustains an impact while under a high wind load, (4) resists the forces of negative air pressure, (5) overcomes the deficiencies of prior art systems stemming from the use of a grommet system, (6) is relatively easy to store when not in use, and (7) requires a relatively short “lead time” for manufacturing purposes.